Autotrader Upgrades Site to Better Compete
Featured

Ted Craig

22 February 2018

Competition continues to grow among digital marketers as dealers move more and more of their advertising dollars online.
One of the pioneers in this field, Autotrader, is responding to this challenge by putting its site through a major upgrade.
Autotrader celebrated its 20th anniversary last year. Last month, parent-company Cox Automotive announced the overhaul.
The process involves new rollouts throughout the year, but some are already in place.
One upgrade is a new look that is consistent across desktop, tablet and mobile screens, offering faster loading times.
A modernized search experience to drive relevance and speed – up to 25 percent faster – will sort listings by shopper search criteria, previous shopping history and a combination of distance, value and merchandising.
Part of the goal for the upgrades is leveraging the stable of companies owned by Cox Automotive.
The first step is introducing the Kelley Blue Book Fair Market Range on all eligible vehicle inventory listings.
This offering provides shoppers with increased transparency, said Jessica Stafford, senior vice president and general manager of Autotrader.
“It smoothes the connection point between the shoppers and the dealers,” Stafford said.
Although the rollout just started, Autotrader tested the new feature on select dealers. Stafford said the response so far has been extremely positive.
“They love the look and feel, and they love the idea behind a lot of those components,” Stafford said.
More importantly, they love the initial results.
“This is a true transformation,” Stafford said.